Columbus Crew SC's Federico Higuain keeping coy on his future plans

Federico Higuain has refused to comment on his future and instead wants to remain focused on playing well for Columbus Crew SC.

Higuain said last month that the 2017 season could be his last with Columbus, though head coach Gregg Berhalter has suggested there could be a chance of keeping hold of him.

However, when asked again about his plans beyond the season, the playmaker was coy about what he has in mind.

"I have nothing to say with respect to my future," he is quoted as saying by MLS's official website. "I talked a month or two months ago and for me, that's it. It's time to move on and play soccer. That's why I'm here."

Higuain added: "The love that I feel for this club will not change because of a contract or no contract."

Federico Higuain has been at Columbus Crew SC since 2012.

Columbus currently sits fourth in the Eastern Conference, six points above seventh-placed Montreal, though Berhalter's side has played two games more in the race for the MLS playoffs.

Higuain, older brother of Juventus striker Gonzalo Higuain, has been at Columbus since 2012, and if this is to be his final season with the club, he is determined to finish on a high.

"When you look at the last four or five years, playing for this club, I did my job," he said. "I'm really happy. So I want to enjoy these last games and see what happens."

Columbus captain Wil Trapp, meanwhile, has said that the uncertainty over Higuain's future has not had a negative effect on the dressing room.

"Honestly, we haven't even thought about it," Trapp said. "There's been no conversation about it; there's been nothing that would distract the group. That's a credit to the group as well as 'Pipa' [Higuain] and being professional and stepping in every day. He wants to win just as much as anyone else."

Higuain has been a designated player since he joined the club, and he is Crew SC's highest-paid player at $1.05 million in guaranteed compensation, according to the MLS Players Union.

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